EIA Report: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Declined 1.5% in 2006
December 7, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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Total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 7,075.6 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e) in 2006, a decrease of 1.5% from the 2005 level according to Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2006, a report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Since 1990, U.S. GHG emissions have grown at an average annual rate of 0.9%. The 2006 emissions decrease is only the third decline in annual emissions since 1990, said EIA.
U.S. GHG emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), or "U.S. GHG-intensity," fell from 653 metric tons per million 2000 constant dollars of GDP (MTCO2e/$Million GDP) in 2005 to 625 MTCO2e/$Million GDP in 2006, a decline of 4.2%. Since 1990, the annual average decline in GHG intensity has been 2%.
Total estimated U.S. GHG emissions in 2006 consisted of 5,934.4 MMT of C02 (83.8% of total emissions), 605.1 MMTCO2e of methane (8.6% of total emissions), 378.6 MMTCO2e of nitrous oxide (N20) (5.4% of total emissions), and 157.6 MMTCO2e of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride(SF6) (2.2% of total emissions).
Emissions of CO2 from energy consumption and industrial processes, which had risen at an average annual rate of 1.2% per year from 1990 to 2005, declined by 1.8% in 2006. The decline in CO2 emissions from 2005 to 2006 can be attributed to a one-half percent decline in overall energy demand and a decrease in the carbon intensity of electricity generation, said EIA.
Favorable weather patterns, where both heating and cooling degree days were lower in 2006 than 2005, and higher energy prices were the primary causes of lower total energy consumption, said the report. The decline in carbon intensity of electricity generation was driven by increased use of natural gas, the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel, and greater reliance on non-fossil fuel energy sources.
Methane emissions, meanwhile, decreased by 0.4% while N20 emissions rose by 2.9%. Emissions of HFCs, PFCs and SF6, a group labeled collectively as "high-GWP gases" because their high heat trapping capabilities, fell by 2.2%.
The full report, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2006, can be found on the EIA web site.
Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA).